I had a weird idea for fan fiction and I thought. "What the heck? Why not give it a try?" In addition, my little sister taped the whole "Apprentice 1 and 2" episodes and will not permit me to stop watching them with her until I finish writing this fan fiction. I like hero shows, but I'm going insane right now. Send flames—I won't burn, but PLEASE read and review for all that is just and right in this world! And, yes—I will humbly accept constructive criticism, especially from those of you who have had years of writing experience. Plus—if you have any suggestions for my story, please send 'em—God gave me two ears and one mouth. I will listen, not yell. I already have the base line for my story, but with how many times I've watched my sister's tape I really don't have much time to pick out the details. Forgive me if you think my idea is corny (I know my summary sucks) and—enjoy!

Summary: (takes place after all other shows (all seasons)) what happens when the Ice King beats the Titans East, and Robin gets a nasty flu? Solution—Slade. Speedy comes to town searching for help to defeat the icy villain and isn't so sure about Slade himself, but hey: Slade appears to want the Ice King to fall just as much as the Titans do. What happens? (Sorry. I suck at summaries! I promise to practice in the future.)

DISCLAIMER: You know it, I know it,—we all know it. I don't own the Titans, but the Warner Bros do (genius—aren't they?). The Ice King, on the other hand, is my own.

"???" speech, '???' thought, "???" natural sound or speech through a speaker (or anything related)

The enemy of my enemy is a friend of mine

By: Alexnandru Van Gordan

Chapter One: A Forced Friendship

Winter was a pleasant time of year, especially when Christmas was just seven days away. Robbery 'attempt's' went up, but the petty thieves were not quite used to the freezing weather and don't get too far in a chase anyway through all those feet of newly fallen snow. But the scenery is always pleasant when you're running (or flying) as fast as you can and the icy breath of winter fills your lungs until you believe they can almost burst. It is cold and it is windy, but it is beautiful.

The sky was nothing but a pale gray canvas that curved to the dome of the chilly atmosphere. Bones ached from the change in air pressure in foretelling a storm, but how could a storm disturb such a deathly silence? Snowflakes fluttered to the ground and only those in movement could feel winters breath on their frozen faces, the stinging wonder against bare flesh.

Only those in the chase could feel it.

Raven reached the first man, hands outstretched in spheres of dark matter just waiting to be released. She did release her power, the man's feet glowing black as well as she chanted the ancient words of "Azerath Metrion Zinthos!" (please correct me if I got the words wrong). His feet went out from beneath him and he fell flat on his back on the icy pavement, a woman jumping aside as he skidded to a halt.

Beast Boy took the liberty of hunting down the second of the five thieves that took the fire escape up to the roof. Changing into his raven state, he was lifted into the air and pecked at the man's face when he reached the top. The man blocked with his arms and thrashed about in an attempt to hit the young hero, but fell over the black railing toward the dark alleyway below. Beast Boy slid into the form of an anaconda and wrapped his long tail around the railing. Shooting downward toward the man, he caught the man around the waist just as he passed out a few feet from the ground. It was a close call, but at least he was alive.

Cyborg took on the third man, the only one who had failed to escape from the bank. He held a gun and shoot aimlessly at the robotic hero, missing each time as Cyborg dodged behind a desk. When the click of an empty pistol filled the silent bank, Cyborg stood from his shelter and shot his cannon. The man was blown back into the safe from which they had stolen the money, landing unconscious on a pile of money he had failed to sack before the heroes came.

Starfire chased the fourth robber a little farther down the road Raven had chased the first. She passed her dark friend just as she had moved to pick up the robber. Raven asked if she required assistance, but Starfire declined. She didn't want to hurt the robber—just talk him out of stealing again.

She caught him at the corner of the street when he ran into a group of businessmen. He danced aside as Starfire swooped down to grab him, but she made up for the miss with a quick spin in the air and an uppercut punch to his jaw. He flew back, but his head remained on his shoulders and his neck did not break. The Tamerainian (correct me if I'm wrong) princess had not meant to hit so brutally, but he was only unconscious.

Robin was left with the last man, running after him down the street in the opposite direction of his two female friends. The man was tallest, heavy built, and not a bad runner. But Robin was far from slow. He caught up to the man in a heartbeat, taking him down with a running-jump-side-kick to the back just as he reached the crosswalk. The man landed with a grunt on his chest, but turned over onto his back and jumped back onto his feet, fists ready for a fight. The thief then lunged forward and threw a punch—and another, and another, and another…You can only imagine the Boy Wonder was getting bored of dodging his head from side to side in defense against such a petty attack. He ended the short battle with one punch, sending the man flying back onto the deserted road with a light thud.

Another easy victory.

The criminals were arrested by the police upon arrival and the Titan's began the long walk home toward the T-tower. They could have flown, but why? It was so beautiful outside.

"Cough-cough! Cough-cough-cough!"

Raven, Beast Boy, Cyborg and Starfire all paused and turned around on the snowy sidewalk.

Robin coughed again.

"Dude, you've got a cold!" Beast Boy exclaimed, stating the obvious.

Cyborg glanced at his arm. "Correction—the flu. Told ya, Robin—you should've worn a sweater. Now you're gonna be out of the action for a while."

Robin frowned and walked past them, arms crossed in defiance. "A cough won't kill me. Besides, how do you know if I've got the cold or the flu? It could just be a cough."

"Robin, my arm doesn't lie." He lowered it and they continued onward. "Besides, your suit is short sleeved and I have no idea how thin the material is. You're just begging to get sick."

"Fine—I'll wear a jacket or something." He coughed again, his breath a thick mist that flowed over his shoulder into Starfire's face. "But I'm not sitting any battles out. Besides, a little fresh air is good for a person."

"Not this much." Beast Boy muttered.

"Perhaps you should rest when we return home?" Starfire suggested, worried for the health of her friend. "Cyborg is right. One cannot fight if they are already battling something within themself."

Raven slipped next to Cyborg. "Fever?" She whispered.

"Just wait for it."

"Cough-cough-cough! Cough-cough-cough!" Robin sat sideways on the sickbay bed, head heavy with the weight of severe pain. He was freezing and his stomach was quite upset.

"You've got a fever." Cyborg said plainly.

"I thought you said I had the flu?"

"You can get a fever with the flu, usually now around dinnertime." He explained plainly. "Get something to drink and go to sleep. If anything comes up the others and I can handle it."

Robin opened his mouth to argue, but his heart wasn't into it. Maybe a little rest would do him some good. He had been uptight ever since he had seen Slade when no one else could and the hallucination almost drove him to his death. He needed the break.

"Fine." He murmured and jumped off the bed. It was much to Cyborg's surprise that he had not insisted on arguing until the others let him fight to his death. It was so unlike their leader it was…freaky.

Starfire sat on the couch beside Beast Boy, still unaccustomed to the controls for their racing game. She had been passed numerous times and lost all but one race (the one Beast Boy allowed her to win out of pity,—which took about half an hour), but she continued to play. It kept her mind off Robin.

Just then the screen changed to show the front door camera. There stood a young boy with short red hair and a bow with arrows. At first Starfire thought it was Robin until Beast Boy jumped up and smiled.

"Hey, Speedy!"

Starfire stared at the boy. It was remarkable how much alike he looked to Robin—maybe they were brothers…or related otherwise…

"Hey, could you guys let me in? I've got something urgent to tell you."

"Sure." Beast Boy strode over toward the controls and pressed a couple of the buttons. "Villain problems?"

"I wish it were otherwise. This concerns you guys now."

"Oh?" An eyebrow rose. "Anyone we know?"

"Ummm…does the Ice King ring a bell?"

"Nope."

"Slade?"

Both Beast Boy and Starfire froze.

'Slade is still…alive?' Starfire thought. What did that mean? She remembered how Robin had hallucinated about him due to the dust on Slade's mask, but was he really back this time? In the flesh and blood—or was this all another misunderstanding, a third trick up Slade's sleeve?

"Dude, you're not serious…are you?" Beast Boy asked doubtfully. It was hard to believe, but with a guy like Slade, who knew what was possible or impossible.

"Yah…but he's not exactly the one you should worry about. He's helping."

"Helping?!" Beast Boy choked.

Starfire was rendered speechless. Hearing the guy was alive was one thing—but him helping them… Maybe she was sleeping.

She pinched her arm and jerked from the slight amount of pain.

No. She was awake.

Beast Boy turned around to face Starfire. "You'd better get the others—I'll show Speedy in."

She nodded and did not hesitate. She flew toward the door, but before she walked out into the hall she heard what Beast Boy said.

"Robin is gonna die when he hears this."

Robin shivered under his covers, head and stomach aching. He felt like he was going to vomit, but he had failed to do so yet—just as he had failed to fall asleep. The moment he left Cyborg he had gone straight to bed and tried to rest and it shocked him how hard it was to do something as simple as that. The one time he had the chance to unwind he couldn't do it.

"What's wrong with me…?" He muttered and pulled his up covers over his head.

A soft knock came on the door and he moaned. He was useless—who could want him now?

"Yes?" He called out and the door slid open, letting in a long beam of light into the pitch-black room.

"Friend Robin, there is an emergency."

It was Star.

He pulled the covers down from his head and sat up in bed, still shivering from the unexplainable cold. He promised himself he would take a break from fighting but an emergency was an emergency and now was not the time for rest.

Starfire took a step inside, staring at him in her worried way. "A boy named Speedy has come here to speak with us—and he wants to talk to you first."

"Speedy?"

That really caught his attention.

He moved to stand out of bed but slid from the covers and fell to his back on the floor, stuck on the side of the bed hidden from Starfire. He heard her worried moan but sat up and stared at her from over the bed.

"I'll get there when I get there. Just give me a moment to focus."

Head throbbing with every heart beat, he somehow managed to stand and slowly trudged after Starfire. She waited in the doorway for him and walked by his side until they entered the main room.

Speedy sat by the kitchen counter, smiling at first at Robin until his grin faded to a look as worried as Starfire's.

"You look pale." The old friend said. "Caught a ghost, did ya?"

"Caught a flu." Beast Boy corrected.

Raven and Cyborg trailed in after Robin had taken a seat on the couch, leaning his chin on the back of the seat to look over toward Speedy. He was still dressed in his full costume in case he had felt good enough to fight again in the same day—fat chance that was now! Who knew how long a flu could last for a guy who hadn't had one in seven years. Being fifteen…that was a good half-of-a-life ago.

'Really that long?' He thought.

"Hey, Speedy." Cyborg grinned. Raven said nothing and sat next to Robin on the couch, giving him the same look everyone did when they looked at him.

Speedy turned away from Robin and smiled back at the half-human, half-robot hero. "I wish this was a happy meeting, but there's no rest for the wicked—or the good for that matter."

"You're not going to believe what he's got to say." Beast Boy said and shot a nervous glance at Robin.

"Why?" Robin asked. "If it's villain trouble—so what? A villain is a villain."

"Not when he is assisting you." Starfire said meekly. Her and Beast Boy backed away from Robin, trying to look happy save the perspiration on their foreheads.

'What's wrong with them?'

"Wouldn't that be a good thing?" Raven asked in her usual monotone voice, an eyebrow arching in suspicion as the two frightened heroes edged closer toward the door.

"Enough with the mystery." Robin sighed. "Just tell us what's wrong so we can get down to business, Speedy."

The boy nodded and continued. "Well, we at Titans East have been handling things fine until what I guess you guys would call a 'major villain' showed up. His name is the Ice King and you can only guess what his power is."

"Him?" Raven's eyebrow rose again, this time in interest. "He was on the news, freezing up your city, wasn't he?"

"We've been able to hold him at bay, but we heard news Jump City is his next stop as soon as he finishes the east. He has a secret partner who is interested in your city, and we've yet to discover who he is. He caught the others and I'm the only one left."

That was something. Robin would have said Slade, but Slade was dead. It had to be someone else—perhaps someone they met before…

"Anyway…" Speedy glanced at Beast Boy and Starfire, just as confused about them as was everyone else in the room. "We've only been able to hold him at bay because his last partner ditched him after a major disagreement. The Ice King has been working on a machine that will control the weather all over the world, and the last partner has the missing piece to his machine. He also knows how to destroy the machine and sneak into the Ice King's palace if we help him get something back from the guy."

"Do you know what it is?" Cyborg asked.

"He'll only tell use once we're in and we're insured a victory."

Raven glanced at Beast Boy and Starfire who looked as pale as Robin. "Who is it?" She had to ask.

Speedy shrugged. "Some guy that goes by the name of—"

"—Speedy…can we talk to you in private?" Beast Boy interrupted, still sweating. "Look at how stressed Robin looks? You should get some shut-eye, Rob, and leave this to the rest of us."

Robin was pretty shocked. What on earth had gotten into them? Sure, he was tired and sore—but he wasn't too worried about that. He could help in some way with the mission anyhow and get well rested later on. Besides, he couldn't sleep even if he wanted to.

"I'm fine." He snapped at Beast Boy and then looked to Speedy. "Who is it? Is he here with you?"

Speedy nodded. "Yes. Actually, he's outside."

The door to the main room slid open, revealing to them the eerie darkness of the hallway.

"Or…not…" Speedy said. "Oh well—you might as well meet him. After all, we need him to complete the mission."

Robin squinted behind his mask and stared at the dark silhouette in the doorway. It looked so familiar…maybe he did know the guy.

Starfire and Beast Boy slid away from the doorway and stepped behind a confused Cyborg, mouths shut tight in fear. Whoever it was, he got them spooked—but Robin didn't fear much of anyone.

"You can come in, you know." Robin called out to the man before coughing. "If you're helping us we have no reason to attack."

"Even if you are a villain." Cyborg finished, glancing under his arm at a shivering Starfire.

"Maybe it is for the best that you leave the room, Friend Robin." Starfire squeaked. "You are in no condition for fighting—or greeting."

Robin was quite confused. He stood and crossed his arms. "Later, Star."

"But perhaps it is best for your health that you rest."

Cyborg, Raven, and Robin froze in that instant, all three staring off into the darkness of the hall. The silhouette became clear as the dark figure stepped forward into the light of the room to reveal himself as none other than—

"Slade…" Robin gasped, much to his displeasure. Why couldn't it have been someone else—he would have rather been locked up for life in jail with the Joker and Two-Face as his inmates than team up with his nemesis.

"But you're dead!" Cyborg exclaimed.

"Obviously I'm not."

"Not for long, anyway." Robin hissed and reached into a compartment of his utility belt for a birdarang. This he threw at Slade before anyone could speak, but Raven was one step ahead of him. She caught the disk with her powers an inch away from Slade's face and allowed it to explode harmlessly within the dark sphere.

"Unless you want to destroy this place, I suggest you leave the fighting for later." She explained. "Besides, we have more important things to focus on."

"But he can't be trusted!" Robin pointed out, his headache seeming ten times as worse. "He tried to kill us and he succeeded in destroying Terra—we can't work with him!"

"My, my. What a temper." Slade replied in his ever-cool deep hypnotic voice. It sent shivers along everyone's spines. "You haven't changed a bit."

"And neither have you." Robin snapped. "I don't know what you're up to, but there is no way this is going to work."

"Oh? And what do you suggest?"

Robin pulled out his Bo-staff. As sick as he was feeling, nothing could dampen the fire burning away at his soul. He had to defeat Slade once and for all and now was his chance.

Raven sent Robin a warning glare. "I said later."

He hesitated, but common sense prevailed and he retracted his Bo-staff, placing it back inside it's proper compartment on his belt. He would get his chance again, and then he would make Slade pay for everything he had done to him and his friends in the past.

A monster was always a monster—you had to kill it before it became anything worse.

Speedy had stared at them all in an odd manner the entire time, but now his stiff shoulders relaxed and he looked from the criminal mastermind to the Boy Wonder with an eyebrow arched much in the same fashion as Raven.

"Now that that's settled." The guest hero sighed. "Any questions?"

How'd you like it? I know I'm not the best writer, but at least my sister isn't making me watch her tape again tonight. I like the show—but not that much.

Questions to ponder: Do you think Slade will keep on the Titan's good side the whole time? More importantly—can Robin keep a lid on his fury, or will it get the best of him before they can stop the Ice King? And who is the secret partner of the Ice King? He/she must want something pretty good, don't ya think?